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Jan 1, 2001 · The Untouchable is a book that earned top ratings from many of my GR friends, but it irked me and left me untouched. It is a book that will appeal to readers of spy thrillers. Banville’s prose is polished, controlled, and penetrating. His use of vocabulary is opulent and rather intimidating.
- (3.8K)
- 1997
- John Banville
- Paperback
May 2, 1997 · An icy, detailed portrait of a traitor, and a precise meditation on the nature of belief and betrayal. Banville (Athena, 1995, etc.) tends to allow the shimmering intensity of his prose to overcome plot and character. This time out, though, he keeps matters moving along briskly and his prose, while still vigorous, firmly under control. Sir Victor Maskell, an elderly, much-honored art historian ...
- Kirkus Reviews
Victor Maskell: Victor is a middle-aged art historian and spy. He is described as a charming and intelligent man. He has a slim build, graying hair, and sharp features. Victor uses his intellect to navigate both the high-class art world and the secretive world of espionage. James Pryce: James is a former lover and close friend of Victor.
The Untouchable is a 1997 novel by John Banville. The book is written as a roman à clef , presented from the point of view of the art historian, double agent and homosexual Victor Maskell—a character based largely on Cambridge spy Anthony Blunt and in part on Irish poet Louis MacNeice .
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Dec 2, 2022 · For one thing, as his story unfolds in John Banville’s 1997 novel The Untouchable, Maskell describes his deep entrenchment in the sort of well-insulated, self-satisfied, hedonistic life that was available to upper-class Britons throughout much of the twentieth century. For Maskell and his circle — he was a member of the circle, not the ...
Feb 10, 2018 · As he waits for the Damoclean sword to fall he reflects on his life, in all its tiny details. And this is what makes The Untouchable an unforgettable masterpiece. Banville’s writing shines from ...
Jun 30, 1998 · The Untouchable. Paperback – June 30, 1998. by John Banville (Author) 4.2 1,138 ratings. See all formats and editions. WINNER OF THE LANNAN LITERARY AWARD FOR FICTION • From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea comes the fascinating story of a former British spy who's been unmasked as a Russian agent—and "one of spy fiction's ...
- John Banville
